Original Birth Certificate to be filed with the NVC or Certified True Copy

[Chris&Angel 5]

Hello VJ’s

IR1/CR1 filer here, waiting for NOA2 approval.

Issue: Original Birth Certificate to be filed with the NVC or Certified True Copy. There seems to be some confusion when it comes to the NVC, RFE’s are being issued by the NVC because the Original BC wasn’t submitted as part of the AOS packet. In other words, the NVC isn’t accepting ‘Certified True Copy” of the Birth Certificate, which is contradictory to their guidelines posted at the NVC Web portal?

This has happen across various VJ country forums:

Documents the Applicant Must Submit to the NVC

Original Document Requirements

You and each family member immigrating with you to the United States must submit to the NVC original civil documents issued by an appropriate authority, or certified copies of those documents listed in this section.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/submit/documents-to-submit-to-nvc.html

NVC Requirements

Birth Certificate:

You (and any family members immigrating with you to the United States) must obtain an original birth certificate issued by the official custodian of birth records in your country of birth, showing your date of birth, place of birth, and parentage. Important Notice: All Immigrant Visa applicants must submit a long form original birth certificate. Short form birth certificates will not be accepted.

The certificate must contain the:

• Your date of birth
• Your place of birth
• Names of both parents
• Indication by the appropriate authority that it is an extract from the official records

Our dilemma; wife is originally born in Malaysia, and she has renounced her citizenship and is now a Singapore Citizen. Her BC is now laminated (Sealed) by the Malaysian Government, therefore we cannot submit this as part of the AOS as an Original document. She does plan to go into Malaysia and obtain an Extract of her Birth Certificate this coming weekend.

I have addressed this issue directly to the US Embassy in Singapore, still waiting for a reply and clarification. Should I sent an inquiry email to the NVC for Clarification

RENUNCIATION OF MALAYSIAN CITIZENSHIP

Note:

i) All photocopies of documents in A4 size paper

ii) Forms to be hand-written or typed. Mistakes to be cancelled neatly. Do not use

Tipp-ex;

iii) Original Malaysian birth certificate to be laminated before submission;

iv) To photocopy front and back of Singapore Citizenship Certificate;

v) Applicant who do not have Malaysian birth certificate or Borang ‘W’ must produce 2

photocopies of parent’s document

ie: Identity card, Birth Certificate, Citizenship Certificate and passport

Update: 23 January 2014

The above information is in hand; the Renunciation documents Notarized, her translated BC Notarized as a “True Copies” have been translated and were submitted with the I-130. No RFE has been issued by the USCIS as of this date.

[NikLR 13,227]

A certified copy is a copy from the original issuer. It is not a notarized copy. It is not a copy made by anyone other than the original issuer.

For instance, if you lost your birth certificate, you have to contact the original issuer of the birth certificate to get a new one. That new one is a "certified copy."

The USCIS does not require anything other than photocopies. Nothing from the beneficiary was needed either (neither birth certificate or passport copy.)